ACC Insider - Duke's Smith gets a sign from ESPN program

Tuesday

Mar 30, 2010 at 10:21 PM

By Brett Friedlanderstarnewsacc@gmail.com

DURHAM | The Duke basketball team was already confident in its chances Sunday without any signs from above.But at this time of the year, every little bit helps. Even for a team as talented, well-coached and motivated as the Blue Devils.So when Nolan Smith woke up to find ESPN's feature on his late father Derek being replayed on television in his Houston hotel room, he knew everything was going to be OK.Smith was so inspired that he dedicated his performance in Duke's South Region championship game against Baylor to the man he always wanted to grow up to be just like.“This one is for you Dad!! I love you!” NdotSmitty Tweeted Sunday morning.He then played the game of his life by scoring a career-high 29 points in leading the Blue Devils to a 78-71 victory that earned him the region's Most Outstanding Player award.It also helped Smith accomplish his life-long dream of playing in college basketball's Final Four, just as his father did 30 years ago.And here's another omen:They play for the national championship this weekend, the games will be held in Indianapolis … the same city in which Derek Smith and Louisville won their national title by beating UCLA in 1980.“I've thought about going to Indianapolis like my dad did since this tournament started,” said Smith in the postgame locker room Sunday. “After I watched (the Outside the Lines piece), I just played on adrenaline. I knew he was watching over me and I felt like I could do anything.”Smith scored on drives through the Baylor zone, 3-pointers and every other kind of shot in between. He finished 9 of 17 from the floor with four 3-pointers while playing all 40 minutes. He also did a good defensive job on Bears' point guard Tweety Carter, holding him below his season average while forcing four turnovers.His run of seven straight points, capped by perhaps the biggest 3-point basket of his career with 3:33 remaining, proved to be the catalyst that put Duke over the top and allowed it to become the only No. 1 seed in the field to survive and get to Indy.It was an amazing individual effort that would have made Derek proud – which is all Nolan has ever wanted since, as an impressionable 8-year-old, he watched his father die of a heart attack while on a cruise ship.That's quite a burden for any child to bear. Not only was Derek Smith a key member of that Louisville championship team who had his number 43 retired by the school, but he is also credited with popularizing the term “High Five.” He enjoyed a nine-year NBA career in which he scored more than 5,000 points before getting into coaching.Though Nolan plays a much different style of game than his more powerful father – mainly because at 6-foot-2, he's five inches smaller than Derek – it's obvious that he inherited the old man's ability and desire.He's averaged 17 points per game this season and handed out more than 100 assists while teaming with Jon Scheyer and Kyle Singler to form the Blue Devils' version of The Big Three. It's a combination that has led Duke to within two wins of its first national championship since 2001.Smith is reminded daily of his influences from the past. Tattooed onto his right arm is a picture of his father beneath the phrase “Forever Watching.”Given the signs that seem to have been coming from above lately and the effect they've had on Smith and his team, it's hard to imagine that he's not.

ACC Insider Brett Friedlander can be reached at starnewsacc@gmail.com.